Fewer animals killed at Orange County shelter in 2014; rate fell from 50 percent to 33 percent in 5 years

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Volunteer Sharron Warren gives a kiss to Kansas at OC Animal Care in Orange. Kansas is one of about 100 dogs, cats and bunnies available for adoption at the OC Animal Care. The kill rate at the aging Orange County animal shelter has plummeted over the past five years, sparing the lives of thousands of stray and abandoned dogs, cats and other animals.

Tabitha, a spayed black cat, is another animal available for adoption at OC Animal Care in Orange.

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Volunteer Sharron Warren plays with Kanas in the exercise pen at the OC Animal Care in Orange. Kanas is one of around 100 dogs, cats, and bunnies available for adoption at the OC Animal Care.

Volunteer Celesta Peterson pets Caroline at the OC Animal Care in Orange. Caroline is one of around 100 cats, dogs, and bunnies available for adoption at the OC Animal Care.

Volunteer Celesta Peterson pets Caroline in the visiting room at the OC Animal Care in Orange. Caroline is one of around 100 cats, dogs, and bunnies available for adoption at the OC Animal Care.

Kristen Zemke, public education officer, holds Bethany, a calico and white rabbit, at the OC Animal Care in Orange.

Olivia, a female black and white Dutch rabbit, gazes out from her cage at the OC Animal Care in Orange. Olivia, is one of around 100 bunnies, dogs, and cats available for adoption at the OC Animal Care.

John, of Laguna Beach, spends a little with T-Bone in the visiting area at the OC Animal Care in Orange. He says he has adopted two cats and a dog from OC Animal Care.

The kill rate at the aging Orange County animal shelter has plummeted over the past five years, sparing the lives of thousands of stray and abandoned dogs, cats and other animals.

Back in 2010 – when the recession was in full force and home foreclosures hit an all-time high – 15,093 animals entered the shelter but didn’t get out alive, according to county statistics. The overall kill rate was 50 percent, meaning one of every two animals was put down.

By 2014, the number of animals euthanized had plunged by nearly half – to 8,132 – and the overall kill rate had dropped to 33 percent, meaning one of every three animals was put down. That’s nearly 7,000 fewer dead animals.

The total number of animals taken in at the creaky 70-plus-year-old Orangefacility was down more than 20 percent as well.

“Our numbers continued to move in a very positive direction,” said Katie Ingram, administrative manager for OC Animal Care, the branch of county government that runs the shelter for 18 cities and the county’s unincorporated areas, licenses dogs and handles enforcement of animal-related laws.

She credited an improving economy, greater acceptance of voluntary spaying and neutering, stronger partnerships with rescue groups, the tremendous reach of social media to help find homes for adoptable pets, and a novel program to spay or neuter feral cats, then release them where they were found, with the improving picture.

Animal activists lauded the progress but insisted it’s not enough.

“In order to change any result, the direct cause must be addressed,” said Jean Bland, an activist in Laguna Hills. “So I absolutely believe a mandatory spay-and-neuter policy, that includes a truly low-cost option for those who qualify financially, is essential for the county of Orange.”

“This is great news, that the O.C. shelter is both receiving fewer animals and euthanizing fewer of them,” Cody said. “A mandatory spay-and-neuter ordinance would absolutely reduce further the number of pets impounded.”

Mandatory spay-neuter laws require dog and cat owners to have their animals’ reproductive systems neutralized, usually with exceptions for show dogs and the like. People who refuse to have their pets “fixed” can be subject to fines and other penalties.

PROGRESS IN L.A.

Los Angeles adopted a mandatory spay-neuter law in 2008 – the same year the Orange County grand jury urged the Board of Supervisors to do the same. O.C. rejected the idea as too “nanny state” after some dog enthusiasts denounced the idea as an attack on their pets and as the first step toward outlawing animal ownership entirely.

Nanny or no, the policy appears to be having its intended effect in Los Angeles:

• In 2010, the kill rate for dogs and cats was 40 percent, and 21,784 were euthanized, according to L.A. city statistics.

• By 2014, the kill rate for dogs and cats had plunged to 24 percent, with 8,239 animals euthanized. O.C. put down 6,621 dogs and cats that year – not much fewer than L.A., though L.A.’s program is much larger.

An aggressive, but voluntary, spay-neuter program adopted in the Live-Free-or-Die state of New Hampshire saw euthanasia rates drop 70 percent, by targeting low-income pet owners and offering free or nearly free spay/neuter procedures, officials have said.

In Santa Cruz, a mandatory spay-neuter law resulted in dramatic reductions. Within a decade, the intake of stray animals had plummeted 61 percent, and the kill rate dropped by nearly half.

Several bills to make spaying and neutering mandatory have been introduced in California over the years, and all of them came to a dead end. Opponents have little faith in these numbers and say the costs of mandatory spay-neuter can more than double the cost of animal control.

‘GOING TO THE DOGS’

That’s not, however, the conclusion that the grand jury embraced.

“The most cost-effective and humane long-term method to reduce animal overpopulation is to spay and neuter pets,” the grand jury said in its 2008 report, “Is Orange County Going to the Dogs?”

“The main reason that the county shelter is full and many animals are euthanized is that pet owners, in many cases, have allowed their animals to reproduce beyond the owner’s ability to take care of the offspring,” it continued. “The grand jury determined that there should be some form of mandatory spay/neuter ordinance for all Orange County cities and the unincorporated areas. This would reduce the animal population, save taxpayers money and lower the number of pets being euthanized.”

In its required response, county supervisors said, “This recommendation will not be implemented because it is not warranted or is not reasonable.”

Activists hope that, after all these years, supervisors might reconsider. All five members have been replaced since then.

“Of course you will have some people who use the tired term ‘nanny state,’ but to me that sounds like when teenagers are going through the rebellious stage and ‘you can’t tell them what to do,’” animal rights supporter Rose Tingle said.

Refininghow animal control works is high on the county’s agenda in the wake of a critical examination by the county’s performance auditor. That report made dozens of recommendations on how to improve operations, and its new director, veterinarian Jennifer Hawkins, is eager to get to work.

“We’re at an old facility, but we’re trying to be as proactive and creative as we can,” Animal Care’s Ingram said. “Spaying and neutering, and responsible pet ownership, are the priority messages.”

The county has partnered with foundations to help offer free and low-cost spay-and-neuter. The next sessions are slated for Friday and May 22. More information is at ocpetinfo.com.

“It sure is an important message,” Ingram said. “If we can get it ingrained in our community, we’d see even greater impact on the numbers of animals that are euthanized.”

Teri Sforza is one of the lead reporters on the OCR/SCNG probe of fraud, abuse and death in the Southern California addiction treatment industry. Our "Rehab Riviera" coverage won first place for investigative reporting from the California Newspaper Publishers Association, first place for projects reporting from Best of the West and is a finalist for the National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation's print award, competing with the New York Times, the Washington Post and ProPublica. Sforza birthed the Watchdog column for The Orange County Register in 2008, aiming to keep a critical (but good-humored) eye on governments and nonprofits, large and small. It won first place for public service reporting from the California Newspaper Publishers Association in 2010. She also contributed to the OCR's Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation of fertility fraud at UC Irvine, covered what was then the largest municipal bankruptcy in America‘s history, and is the author of "The Strangest Song," the first book to tell the story of a genetic condition called Williams syndrome and the extraordinary musicality of many of the people who have it. She earned her M.F.A. from UCLA's School of Theater, Film and Television, and enjoys making documentaries, including the OCR's first: "The Boy Monk," a story that was also told as a series in print. Watchdogs need help: Point us to documents that can help tell stories that need to be told, and we'll do the rest. Send tips to watchdog@ocregister.com.